Police brutality at UC Davis

You know that I’m not a fan of the Occupy movement’s tactics, but good grief, this cop’s action at UC Davis is hard to view as anything other than disgusting. Guy walks right up to peaceful protesters who are sitting down and threatening nobody, and cuts loose on them with pepper spray. Watch it for yourself. It’s breathtaking, the brutality of this act. I fully believe that if these protesters had no right to be there, and cops had ordered them to leave, and they refused, then they should have been prepared for arrest. But to hit them with pepper spray like this? Unspeakable.

I can’t see any legitimate basis for police action like what is shown here. Watch that first minute and think how we’d react if we saw it coming from some riot-control unit in China, or in Syria. The calm of the officer who walks up and in a leisurely way pepper-sprays unarmed and passive people right in the face? We’d think: this is what happens when authority is unaccountable and has lost any sense of human connection to a subject population. That’s what I think here.

Fallows links to a similar video from UC Berkeley. I was watching it just now when my seven year old son Lucas walked up behind me unnoticed. “They’re hitting them!” he exclaimed, audibly upset. “They’re hitting girls! If I was there, I would hit them back!”

The kid gets it. Do police? These videos makes an instructive pairing with this news, I tell you what.

Events like the one in the above video [the UC Davis one] have been far too common in the police response to Occupy protests across the country. I do believe that Occupy Wall Street is at a tipping point, and that it must grow beyond and evolve away from the tent city occupations, but this police response is absurd and excessive.

Arrests exceeding 250 people followed protests in New York City yesterday. All across the country, cops are cracking down on protesters with force. I may be a critic of Occupy Wall Street, but the police are public servants, and public servants have no business treating the public this way.

UPDATE.2: To be clear, I do not oppose, in principle, the police clearing a space within reason. Wendy Kaminer is correct to say Occupy doesn’t have an unlimited right to impose itself on public spaces (much less private spaces, like Zuccotti Park). I only object to pepper-spraying people who were non-violently resisting. Why not put them in a paddy wagon? Isn’t that how it’s usually done? If they’re going to break the law in nonviolent resistance, arrest them. That’s part of the deal. But pepper-spraying them? Really?

The second in which the protesters sit hunched over and huddled in pain their faces and hands painted with red pepper is quite extraordinary and literally puts to shame the armchair fascists down here.

I did find another case involving pepper spray for misdemeanor trespass. We even have trespassers in a large group. The case is HEADWATERS FOREST DEFENSE v. COUNTY OF HUMBOLDT, decided by the 9th circuit court of appeals. It found the officers could be held civilly liable for 4th Amendment damages. The case involved environmental protesters who had secured themselves using a “black bear”.

I’ve got no doubt that these police folks were using the pepper spray on orders from Obama and the Republican Congress, who love their Wall Street contributions a lot more than they love the civil rights of the protesters.

Look, I know these people, I went to college with them. “Look mommy, I can provoke the dumb cops into spraying me, just like you did in the 60’s. Then I go home to my dorm, while the dumb cops get disciplined or fired”. I am so unsympathetic with these people.

Fallows says: “Watch that first minute and think how we’d react if we saw it coming from some riot-control unit in China, or in Syria.” Yeah, except for one thing: They don’t do a lot of pepper spray in China, or Syria, or Iran or Egypt. The preferred method in China is tanks, in Egypt it’s armored cars, and in Syria and Iran it’s bullets. Fallows, (and you, too, Rod,) is getting a mite hysterical. The OWS and its ilk is mostly bogus, Congress is the problem, (and the SEC) not corporations, and these protesters are begging for police brutality so they can brag about it at their next bragfest.

Mme. Chiang Kai-shek and Lasorda, you claim to have been pepper sprayed. Can you answer my question above: Why aren’t the people sitting on the ground showing signs of pain or discomfort beyond putting their hands on their faces? Now that someone has explained the difference between pepper spray and Mace, maybe one of you can explain what we saw on that video.

Speaking of which: Does anyone have actual video footage of what transpired before the spraying?

Franklin Evans, These agents tend to act through the tear ducts mouth, nose and mucus membranes. If the protesters kept their heads down and their eyes and mouths shut, they could hold out longer than someone just standing around. Some protesters have coated themselves with Vaseline, but this is a bad idea as the agent clings to it.

It’s good to wear tight fitting googles with a wet handkerchief over your mouth and nose if you are in an area being tear gassed. Obviously it’s best to just avoid such areas. Never try to reason with a cop in a riot situation. They cannot take time to reason with or listen to you. They have orders to clear the street and if you aren’t obeying their commands you’re a target of enforcement. It’s the same all over the world.

Dear me. How the authoritarians come out when the Po:lice are under discussion.

I’m from one of those blue-collar families that somehow failed to get the message that the police actual do much serving and protecting. My parents’ assessment mostly applied to the Ogden police — thought until lately to be rather like the Springfield police in the Simpsons (but, no, Ogden too can now SWAT and sometimes execute. Long ago, liberals said federal aid would bring enlightenment to the benighted locals.) My own assessment rests mainly on police in Florida, and I can’t say too much in their favor, either. (As for yer big northern urban conflagrations, I’ve never lived in one.)

In any case, no anti-Vietnam War protester ever *sent* anyone to Vietnam. One needs to look toward the “channeling” classes — General Hershey, Cold War liberals, Rand Corporation, Clark Kerr, LBJ — people like that.

An interesting fault line is perhaps being revealed here between authoritarian conservatives and libertarian conservatives. Naturally, a good many announced “libertarians” will probably be found on the authoritarian side.

I’ve seen police brutality first hand. I am no fan of the police as some conservatives are, but I’m also not an adversary. I understand that they are obliged to keep order and enforce the laws. As the Oakland Police union representative made clear a few weeks back that the Police are also part of the 99% that the OWS movement says it represents. I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and I know without a doubt that there are troublemakers (many of them college students) who find there way into every protest in San Francisco, Berkeley or Oakland and start a confrontation with the police. With that said I see the other side of the coin too where there are “thuggish cops” who look at the public at large as potential perps and treats them as such.

What I’m saying is that you can’t look at this through clearly black and white lenses saying there is the good guys and there is the bad guys because there are very responsible citizens with legitimate gripes among the OWS crowd and there are also anarchists and chronic troublemakers who will always look for a reason to start a riot. The same can be said about the police. There are true guardians within the police forces and there are also thugs with a badge that look for any excuse to abuse their power.

All though the militarization of the American police forces does very much concern me as does the disregard for the constitution that some in the law enforcement community have shown I don’t think that it is justified to view the police as mere lackeys of the corporate/government complex. I am far more worried about the corporate/government complex hiring their own private security forces to break up legitimate protests.

What I’m saying is that you can’t look at this through clearly black and white lenses saying there is the good guys and there is the bad guys

Actually, when a guy walks up to some peaceful protesters just sitting there and pepper sprays them, then, yes, I think it’s clear that you can point who the good guys and bad guys are. Just because some people don’t like OWS does not make it ambiguous about whether it’s right to assault harmless people causing no danger.

I don’t think anyone would have made any more than a token objection if they were just arrested. Dmitri, I think you need to learn to exercise a bit more moral judgment instead of acting as an apologist under the guise of, “well, both sides have a point.”

[As the Oakland Police union representative made clear a few weeks back that the Police are also part of the 99% that the OWS movement says it represents.]

This is not a meaningful statement. The miners and the National Guard troops, local police and private detective agencies sent in to force them back to work were all part of the same aspiring lower class population. They all wanted a bigger share of the country’s prosperity. The two groups split on how to achieve the desired upward mobility. In situations like this the relevant question still comes from Florence Reece.

Hey JoeC…I’m an apologist for no one least of all the police. When I say I’ve seen police brutality first hand it means that I’ve been at the receiving end of a baton and I was merely trying to see a close family member in the emergency room of a local hospital. So yes I think I do have moral judgement in the matter.

In no way was I condoning what this cop did at UC Davis and I was as disgusted watching it on the news as probably you were as well. What I’m saying is that there’s a tendency to be either supportive or the police or completely opposed to the police with very little middle ground in between. I know because I used to be very supportive of the police and I even tried to join the SFPD (I failed the obstacle course…thank God in retrospect). Then I had a very very bad experience with one bad cop and it completely altered the way I looked at law enforcement. I became very paranoid and hostile towards police and I’m just starting to get over that. What I’m saying is that there are good cops and bad cops and in between cops and nothing is black and white. I’m not condoning this cop spraying non-violent protesters in the face with pepper spray. I think that its disgusting as is the NYPD going heavy with the baton or 84 year old grandma’s in Seattle getting tear gassed.

I definitely think that we are headed towards a police state, but I think that the OWS movement should have early on reached out to the police who are working class people and have been shafted by Wall Street and Washington just like the rest of us. What I’m saying is that the actions of a few bad cops or even the decisions of their superiors shouldn’t cause us to label all cops as “fascist pigs”. That’s all I’m saying. Does that make sense?

[All though the militarization of the American police forces does very much concern me as does the disregard for the constitution that some in the law enforcement community have shown I don’t think that it is justified to view the police as mere lackeys of the corporate/government complex. I am far more worried about the corporate/government complex hiring their own private security forces to break up legitimate protests.]

I don’t think they are mere lackeys of the corporate/government complex. I think it’s a cop thing. I think that the war on drugs, the fear of terrorist attacks and technology are gradually weakening the ties between law enforcement and society. People were so frightened they gave away rights and comforted themselves with the belief they were safer. The threatening crowd of police protesting corruption charges against fellow officers in New York makes it clear to me law enforcement will obey and enforce the law as they choose. The seeds of this problem, sewn over the last 30 years are about to bloom.

but I think that the OWS movement should have early on reached out to the police who are working class people and have been shafted by Wall Street and Washington just like the rest of us.

That would be a lot easier to do if the state officials who are trying to weaken public employees’ unions are not cleverly exempting police and firefighters’ unions from their efforts. This reinforces the notion among the police and firefighters that they are special, that they are not “just like the rest of us”.

All right Mont D. Law, “Law enforcement must be held to a higher standard”.

I agree with this statement and that standard should be the United States Constitution. Of course I fall down on the side of labor. If I wasn’t a union member I wouldn’t make half the wage I do now in my chosen profession and benefits would be non-existant. Of course if it came down to having to use force to resist police action against my union I would be on the side of my union. That goes without question. At the same time a rational person understands that a nation of laws need people to enforce the law. Even if there was to be a revolution in this country and the current corporate/government complex was overthrown then the new government would need cops to enforce the laws. That’s what it comes down to. Unless you think that every American citizen should take it upon themselves to enforce their own interpretations of the law and you know what happens with that you get vigilantism and lynch mobs. I’m not saying what the NYPD or the UCDavis police force is doing right now is just or right. I’m just merely stating a fact that police officers are working class people too who’s expertise will still be needed even if we succeed in reforming this corrupt crony capitalist system that we have in this country and return to the Constitutional Republic that we are meant to be. If you think I’m wrong name one revolutionary government in history that did not establish a police force of some kind or another to keep order in society?

[At the same time a rational person understands that a nation of laws need people to enforce the law. Even if there was to be a revolution in this country and the current corporate/government complex was overthrown then the new government would need cops to enforce the laws. ]

The arguments you are making here are of the strawman variety. Civilization’s need for law enforcement is entirely unrelated the performance of any given force.

Mont D. Law, I absolutely agree with you that there’s a major disconnect between American law enforcement and the American public at large and it does have a lot to do with the “war on drugs/terrorism” and the destruction of our right to privacy with constant surveillance. I agree with you that there has arisen in this country a “cop thing” culture and I agree with Viking that state and local governments efforts to limit the power of public union to cut budget deficits while at the same time allowing police and firefighter unions to retain their status is also causing a disconnect. You have no argument from me on those matters. I’m a firm believer that the “war on drugs” is a failure and needs to be scrapped and that citizens privacy rights need to be restored. I am in opposition to both Patriot Acts and think that the Department of Homeland Security is an abomination to our Constitution. I’m in complete agreement on those matters.

As for the police brutality toward the OWS crowd I am not condoning it at all. I think that the brutality needs to stop and those responsible for brutalizing demonstrators need to be held accountable and that especially goes for their supervisors. What I am saying though is that we should not be so quick to demonize the entire law enforcement community as modern day Brown Shirts. Is there corruption in American law enforcement…absolutely there always has been and always will be just as there is with any other police force on the planet, but there are also honorable and honest police officers who won’t take a pay off or shake down drug dealers to make extra dough.

We agree about the disconnect. Now we have to figure out how to reconnect the law enforcement community with the communities where they have authority and that can only be done by reaching out to them and making at least some of them realize that they are average Americans just like us facing a system that is really pitted against the average American.

Dmitri Aleksandrovich, You are wasting your time presenting a balanced approach. This thread brought out the cop-haters and those who just can’t handle reality. The fact that any police department in the world would have done much the same in the same circumstances makes no impression on them.

I find it very interesting that people who are capable of otherwise rational and cogent discussion about vastly abstract topics like metaphysics and spirituality become borderline paranoid about more practical subjects like rule of law and law enforcement.

Find a way to sit down and talk with any member of an urban police force, and chances are excellent that he (increasingly or she) will have the same religion, attitudes, hopes, fears and views on things like privacy that you do. I limit that to “urban” because I don’t have firsthand knowledge of other population densities and the police they have. I encourage others who do to chime in with their personal experiences.

This notion that daily control of law enforcement is subject to detailed scrutiny and decision-making by sinister figures in the upper reaches of government or corporate America is about as true as the Zionist Jewish conspiracy theories, and as easy to disprove.

Yes, money talks, Yes, corruption is present and sometimes egregiously so compared to the norms our society hold dear. Yes, good people have very, very bad experiences. In the meantime, every day the courts are open ordinary people who just happen to be judges, clerks, lawyers and police officers do their duty according to the law, criminals get convicted and imprisoned, and people who are innocent under the law go home free.

I would no more sit still to projecting the pepper spray incident at Davis to all police than any good Christian would sit still to the projection of the Westboro Baptist Church antics to all Christians. I am not a police officer, I am not related to one except by marriage, and I have had both types of experiences with police officers, good and bad. I have also spoken to patrol officers, their commanders, and listened to them give testimony from a seat in the jury box just after being admonished ten ways to Sunday that their jobs give them neither less nor more credence compared to any others.

Thank you, Socrates. And as I join you in demanding that the incident be investigated and, if found appropriate, the officer and other officers be punished up to and including dismissal and being charged with criminal offenses, perhaps you could join me in a similar “shame on you” to all those who use incidents like this to indict all police everywhere under every set of circumstances. Thanks again.

Oh, my. Type in haste, repent in later posts. In my November 20th, 2011 at 3:47 pm post above, I really needed to append to the following paragraph:

In the meantime, every day the courts are open ordinary people who just happen to be judges, clerks, lawyers and police officers do their duty according to the law, criminals get convicted and imprisoned, and people who are innocent under the law go home free, all under the scrutiny of and decision making powers of ordinary people sitting on juries and validating or denying their efforts in any given case. Remember that the next time you complain about a jury duty summons, and find someone to give your spurious excuse to avoid this duty enough credence to get you off the hook of an inconvenience. Think about that the next time you grouse about how little money they give you for jury duty. And do please think about that the next time you think nothing can be done to change anything in our system.

In general my approach to this sort of thing is I am grateful to good cops for going out and risking their lives to keep the peace. I am deeply resentful of bad cops who use their postion to line their pockets of simply to bully civillians.

That said I am out of patience with good cops who circle the wagons around the bad ones. I am out of patience with cops who feel entitled to arrest people who are anything less than completely subservient to their authortity. I am out of patience with cops who know they’re enforcing unwritten laws to harrass the powerless on behalf of the powerful.

Look at the photos Rod links to and the body language of the officer and the students sitting passively while he pepper sprays them.

“That’s true at the beginning of the videos, when the pig is feeling his oats…”

Since the word has been introduced, even before someone asked when it would be used, it is perhaps worth putting it in historical perspective.

Reference to “police” as “pigs” began in Ireland, under British occupation. Although there were plenty of Gaelic RC’s who were loyal to the Queen and served in the Royal Irish Constabulary, the Brits considered it prudent to recruit a fair number of officers from the Sassenach population. Many came from rural areas with high unemployment, with a long history of local inbreeding, producing many strapping male specimens who were deep pink and quite paunchy, viewed by the Irish as physically resembling pigs. The general cry was “Up the Irish, Off the English, Off the Pig.” And hippies think they made it all up.

“You don’t get to the point of being sprayed until you have defied a lawful order to disburse.”

I make amusing typos also, but I can’t resist highlighting Thomas Meehan’s choice of spelling, which is just asking for a work of semantical art from D. Scott Lahti. I’m not aware that the cop ordered the protesters to hand over a bribe, or get pepper sprayed.

Siarlys Jenkins Well as someone said post in haste…. As somone who’s last post on his own blog was.”The case for Israel despite all they’ve done lately,” I can only assume you prefer the Israeli method of crown dispersion.

Your reference to Pigs brings me on a stroll down memory lane. One of the first things I did upon becoming a Sheriffs Officer in the 70’s was to buy a little golden pig lapel pin. That’s just how seriously we took the epithet.

I’ve tried to explain police procedure to those interested. I made plain that I had my own misgivings about how law enforcement was evolving in this country. But if you wish to share any tips from your friends “patrolling” the West Bank, I’m all ears.

Viking, I’m right with you. My earlier rhetoric may not indicate it, and I may (will) post again in that vein, but I learned my attitudes about police in general from such an eclectic mix that one might wonder which bias is showing through at any point.

Item: I was raised to view police officers as stand-ins for my parents. Maybe it was a gentler age, who knows, but growing up I never met an officer that didn’t fulfill that expectation.

Item: I lived in West Philadelphia during the first MOVE incident in Powelton Village. This was the infamous Frank Rizzo era. I and many of my liberal friends — and remember, this was the extended residential area for two major universities — found MOVE’s behavior and rhetoric repulsive.

Maybe it’s too much like straddling the fence, but I come down on the side of the basic premises of criminal justice: Due process, presumption of innocence, and jury trial by one’s peers. I demand, as part of those premises, that every incident be investigated on its own circumstances, and the merits of the charges be judged in their specific context. In that light, citizens and their representatives have, just as citizens and Congress have for the military, an obligation to monitor, praise and punish our law enforcement agencies as appropriate and needed. In situations like we have now, that doesn’t mean suppressing the tensions and conflicts between protest and enforcement, but it does mean publicly and transparently running incidents through the established institution of justice, and not knee-jerking our way to charge, counter-charge and the dispensation of final conclusions in the “court” of public opinion.

Justice that stems from passion is not justice. It is the thin veil over revenge and retribution and is dispensed without regard to the culpability of the perpetrators and the validity of the charges brought. I don’t care if everyone is correct about the UC Davis police. What I care about is that they receive the same treatment as any alleged criminal, from charge and arrest to trial and conviction first, not after everyone has already decided their guilt and fate.

If that also means that some corrupt cops get away with criminal behavior, then it goes back to the citizens who elect those politicians who either made that corruption possible, or saw it developing and existing and did nothing about it. It’s not enough to rail against corruption. Citizens have power, but not if they go home and go silent for 23 months (or whatever) between elections.

This video shows the events leading up to the use of pepper spray by UC Davis police officers. Occupy protesters and the media have sensationalized this story by only showing short clips of the officers spraying the students with pepper spray. This video shows in chronological order how the protesters trapped the police and demanded the release of those they had arrested before they would be allowed to leave.